In this Behind The Music sit-down, I’m chatting with GRAE about the thing that makes her music hit so hard: emotional honesty. We get into her sonic identity—rooted in 80s new wave (she name-drops The Cure as a big influence), indie-pop, and classic rock energy—and how she’s learned to stop hiding behind a “mask” and write from the real, messy places. GRAE talks about being forever evolving style-wise (including the iconic pink hair moment that happened literally the day before a music video), and how getting older helped her solidify what actually feels like her. We also go deep on grief—especially losing her mom young—and how that shaped her relationship to music as a ritual with her dad, plus the way grief doesn’t “end,” you just learn to live with it. She shares how songs can still make her cry (like writing “Spinning” about her dad), and how she’s navigating anxiety, including grieving things before they’re even gone. From there, we talk success, numbers, and why community matters more than follower counts—especially as an independent artist building on your own terms. We wrap with tour stories (including a fan tattoo moment that made her cry), how she promotes in a social-media world she both loves and hates, and why she wants to capture more songwriting BTS next time.